New guy needs trailer

I recently bought a 2011 Limited.
Hoping to find a smallish trailer for storage that will mostly just sit or be pulled short distances.
I hadn't considered needing brakes but now I don't know. Will that require extra equiptment for my vehicle? Can I get away without brakes with a smaller trailer?
Thanks for reading.

 

I've pulled s small trailer with a dinghy on it for years with a tiny 330i e46 sedan , my modest opinion is without more accurate description of the size of your trailer and weight more confident people can chime in with their recommendations

 

Thanks roooo, Don't own the trailer yet!
Hoping to get a smallish enclosed trailer, maybe 5x8 or 6x10 max.
Shopping used on FB marketplace. Don't think I can always trust sellers measurents so it's tricky.
I've seen those brake controllers that plug in under the dash. Do I need all that?

 

Unless you get a trailer that at least 16' long or longer it most likely will not have brakes on the trailer and even if it does the brakes may not be "active" brakes that activates when you press the brake pedal but only activate if the trailer somehow becomes detached from the tow vehicle.

That being said most all smaller trailers 12' or smaller don't have any brakes on them and you really don't need them to have brakes unless you overload them, it also would cost you a lot more for one with brakes than it would for a normal small trailer, so I would say no you don't need a small trailer equipped with brakes.

That being said if you do get a trailer that has active brakes you should only need to get a "Trailer brake controller" to install in your T4R which should be already wired for the controller, at least on all 4th Gens they are so I would think 5th Gens would be the same.

Just an FYI at work I tow trailers all the time and of all sizes.

 

Welcome.

 

I've pulled single and dual axle box trailers with my old 3rd gen, all of which were outfitted with 'surge' braking systems. While not the best braking system compared to electronically controlled types it did its job (and that's with numerous trips over the I5 Grapevine). The last 15 mile downgrade coming into Wheeler Ridge will test even a non trailered vehicle. The surge brakes allowed me to use engine compression the entire way down with about 20% of that distance with occasional vehicle brakes applied. It would be a good idea to make sure that whatever trailer you end up getting is outfitted with 'ST' (Special Trailer) designated radial tires as these have a more robust construction and weight capacity over general purpose tires we use on our passenger and light truck vehicles.

 

welcome

 

Well, thanks for the welcomes and the solid advice.
AuSeeker: kind of what I expected until one 6 x 10 I'm looking at mentioned brakes worked good. Maybe surge brakes?

BTW, Truck has 117K miles and the fancy X REAS shocks are still not leaking.
Changed out the trans, diffs oils and coolant. Hoping to keep this baby for a while.

 

I’ve been looking at one of these, Nucamp T@G Boondock off-road trailer, looking for a lightly used one of course.

 

You will have to ask them what kind of brakes it has, if it's surge brakes you need to do nothing for them to work, the weight of the trailer when stopping activates the brakes.

 

Welcome

 

Welcome!